Welcome to the City of St. Charles  
St. Charles Fire Department protects one of the oldest river towns west of the Mississippi. St. Charles is where Lewis and Clark Corp of Discovery prepared and departed for their great journey. Our city is rich in history and tradition. In 1861 the Union Fire Company was formed and in 1880 the city appointed the first Fire Chief. Today the department has grown to 84 employees, 80 uniformed personnel, and four civilian support staff.

 When an emergency call is received, our department can arrive on the scene within four minutes. All of our Fire Engines and Ambulance are staffed with Firefighter/Paramedics and are all ALS (Advanced Life Support) units.

The St. Charles Fire department consists of four divisions: Operations Division led by Deputy Chief Rick Daly and Battalion Chiefs Harry Fry, Craig Dodson and Mike Grzyb. The Prevention and Code Enforcement Division directed by Assistant Chief Rich Oney, Training Division led by Staff Captain Robb Watkins and the Emergency Medical Services Division directed by Staff Captain Mark Allen. In addition to providing Fire and Emergency Medical Services, we provide hazardous material response, technical rescue, and dive/water rescue. Each Division is essential in our commitment to pursue excellence in the exercise of our mission.

The scope of our organization is not limited to emergency response and mitigation; we are also focused on the prevention of injuries and other emergencies from occurring. Our prevention-focus is around community based safety programs that include: infant car seat installation by certified technicians, bicycle helmet checks, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training, disaster preparedness, and other safety programs.

The St. Charles Fire department is honored to serve our city and we will strive to meet the challenges of our growing community. I hope our web site helps you better understand what services the fire department provides and how we implement these services. The men and women of the St. Charles Fire Department are continuously seeking innovative ways to improve and to provide exceptional service to our community.

I encourage and welcome your ideas and comments. Please feel free to email me at ernie.rhodes@stcharlescitymo.gov. Please take the time to visit any of our five fire stations in the city. If you have any questions about the Fire Department or if you are interested in any safety courses or services we provide please contact our department at (636) 949-3250.

Ernie Rhodes
Fire Chief